No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except
in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or
reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places
and incidents are products of the author's imagination and are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,
organizations or persons living

or dead is entirely coincidental.

For Barbara, Candice, Carol, Diana

Kate and Lynn

You ladies rock!

CHAPTER ONE

Amanda Smith alighted from the bus, shocked as the heat
of the day engulfed her. She’d been traveling in comfort for hours,
even verging on being too cool, as the bus had sped its way eastward
from the coast. Aware of the brightness of the cloudless day through
the tinted windows, but not the heat, she’d given no thought to the
temperature until she plunged into it. The hot noonday sun shone down
with searing rays, the lack of breeze ensuring that the heat hung
close to the earth. A far cry from the Pacific coast she’d left
earlier this morning.